SECOND CENTURY
Officials recognize county residents over 100 at annual luncheon
LOWER GWYNEDD » Dozens of Montgomery County’s oldest residents gathered Thursday morning for one of their favorite days of the year — an annual luncheon for those now enjoying their second century.
“We now have, in Montgomery County, 478 individuals who are over 100 years old,” said commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh. “I don’t know what’s in the drinking water here, but I encourage everyone to drink a lot of it, every single day, because there’s something that we’re doing right.”
The gathering, held at the Foulkeways at Gwynedd community and sponsored by the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services, brought together more than 50 centenarians for a luncheon, live music, an Elvis impersonator and a chance to meet-andgreet fellow friends over 100 from across the county.
The eldest in the crowd, Lena Jeandell of Brandywine, turned 107 last November and attended Thursday’s luncheon with her roommate at the Brandywine Living community, 100-year-old Fern Harper. Their caretaker Galina Novosartova said the two share a common routine that may be their secret.
“The No. 1 thing, every single morning, Lena participates in our ‘Fun, fit and fabulous’
exercise class. Every single morning, 45 minutes, she is exercising, and I believe this is her secret,” Novosartova said.
Fern attends the same class, but usually after a big breakfast — “it’s no joke, they both exercise every single day,” said Novosartova.
Leo Kuehl of Jenkintown will turn 102 in June, and hopes he has half-a-century of birthdays left: “I have a goal of 150. I expect to make it, because I don’t follow the conventional rules,” he said.
Originally from Minnesota, Kuehl is now in his seventh decade as a volunteer for the Glenside Fire Company, and since he moved into the Rydal Park community in Jenkintown in 2011 he has helped lead a conversion to fluorescent lights which saves the community roughly $4,000 annually, and stayed involved on other leadership committees there.
“Whenever you come to a place like that, you can simply pull in and not do anything. I get myself involved in anything and everything they have, and anything that I can do,” he said.
“I have lived, I think, a sensible life, a normal life, and I’m the envy of all of the people in my place. They say ‘if I can do it, I’d like to be like you,’ and they’re younger than me, they’re 70 or 80. Nobody realizes how old I am,” Leo said.
Anna Clapsaddle of Phoenixville, who was born in 1911 and will celebrate her 107th birthday in July, had lunch alongside her daughter, Carrie, who said her mother is not the only one in her family to cross the century mark.
“We just have good genes, I think. She had a sister who was 102, and she’s 106 now. I think I’ll make it — sometimes, I wonder,” Carrie said.
Harry Newman of Elm Terrace Gardens in Lansdale said proudly he is now 101 and three months old, and said, with a grin, he had a simple secret: “drinking lots of coffee. Does it work? Well, here I am!”
Newman can still remember his days as an artillery observer in World War II, and the way his observation battalion would set up wires and microphones to measure the distance to enemy artillery using sound waves and lots of math.
“We considered the temperature of the day, as well as the velocity of the wind, and the direction of the wind, and that all went into the formula. And we got the end result from algebra and trigonometry,” he said.
By the time the war ended in September 1945, Newman said, he had been transferred into the Marine Corps and told to prepare for a landing in Japan — a landing that was never needed, after President Harry Truman authorized the atomic bombings that led to Japan’s surrender.
“I was going to go in on ‘D-Day plus two.’ And I’m still thankful for what Truman did,” Newman said.
His fellow Elm Terrace resident, Hazel Rowles, has big plans for her 102nd birthday on May 23: “I’m gonna do a big stage act. It’s gonna be for free too. I might not be back next year, you never know, but I want to be prepared.”
What is Hazel’s secret to life past 100? She shared it with a smile: “Telling other people what to do — like relatives, you can kick ‘em around a little bit, and live your own lifestyle.”
Bill Herger of Sanatoga will turn 101 on May 8, and recalled how, after driving a milk truck for several years, he founded a food distribution company in 1952 that his daughters have since taken over, and grandchildren will soon run.
His advice? “When my wife was still living, I said ‘Yes, dear.’ I feel very fortunate that I got this far. God blessed me. My wife just died two years ago, we were married 79 years, and if she were still here, she’d be here today, at 101,” he said.
The assembled seniors, along with their family and caretakers, heard performances from a countywide choral group followed by renditions of Elvis Presley songs from Elvis tribute artist Dean Garofolo. As he worked the crowd in a blue sequined suit, 102-year-old Virginia Flamer leaned in for a kiss, and said a few years earlier she would have joined him on the dance floor.
“I don’t think I’ll dance today. When my feet are on the dance floor, they just keep going,” she said.
Once the commissioners arrived, each shared their favorite memories of visiting the seniors for a similar function last year, and commissioner Ken Lawrence said the advice he heard was easy to remember.
“I asked for clues on how I can get to 100. I think the best answer I got last year was ‘Pay your taxes,’” Lawrence said, to laughs from the crowd.
“I paid my taxes before, I paid them this year, and I will continue to do that, but if anyone else has any good tips for me, please let me know,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Gale said even though, at age 29, he’s the youngest to hold that post in the county’s history, his friends call him an old soul due to his love of classic movies and music.
“We can learn so much from our senior citizens, because they’ve experienced so much over the years: world affairs, government, pop culture. And they have the best stories to tell, and wisdom to share with a lot of us,” Gale said.